The Iowa Economic Development Authority board voted today to award a $5 million Destination Iowa grant to the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation (ISDF) and the proposed Pro Iowa Soccer Stadium and Global Plaza project.

The award follows IEDA’s approval in October of $23.5 million from the Iowa Reinvestment Act for the project that will transform the former Dico Inc. site into a mixed-use and entertainment district.

The multiuse 6,300-seat stadium will sit on the 38-acre Superfund site south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and east of Fleur Drive. The ISDF will own the facility, while a separate entity will operate the stadium. The IEDA award will be issued to the city of Des Moines with any bonding that may be needed being done by the foundation.

According to a news release from IEDA, the cost of the project is $79 million. The economic impact of the stadium is expected to be nearly $14 million, with the Global Plaza generating about $1.3 million a year in economic activity.

The project cost cited by IEDA does not include ineligible expenses as defined under Destination Iowa program guidelines. Those expenses include intangible assets, operating costs, employee wages for grant administration, marketing, fundraising, promotional and event costs or leasing of a building. The cost identified by IEDA is for construction costs only and does not include any architectural, engineering or site development fees.

Those fees add about $20 million in additional costs to the project, bringing the total cost to about $95 million, which has been reported by project organizers.

There remains a gap of about $18 million, and organizers say they are continuing to pursue public and private funding opportunities that become available.

Jeff Lorenzen, president of the ISDF board, called today’s decision “an exciting milestone for the Pro Iowa initiative.”

“This progress brings us closer to finalizing the full funding structure and securing the necessary resources to start construction for the Pro Iowa Stadium and Global Plaza,” he said in a release. “The approval of this grant underscores the value of this public/private partnership — an opportunity to revitalize a stagnant area of our [capital] city with a transformative project that will benefit all Iowans and visitors to our state.”

Destination Iowa Fund Grants are awarded to cities, counties and nonprofit organizations proposing to invest in vertical infrastructure to increase tourism to the state.

The soccer stadium and Global Plaza are part of a larger Capital City Reinvestment District, which will “reimagine blighted, vacant and brownfield sites in the heart of Des Moines and replace them with mixed-use neighborhoods,” IEDA documents state.

In all, the redevelopment of the area will represent more than $293 million in investment, IEDA documents show.

The Capital City Reinvestment District will be composed of three hubs: the Stadium Neighborhood, Western Gateway and Gray’s Landing. The hubs will be connected by pedestrian-friendly corridors.

Last summer, some developers who spoke to the Business Record said the soccer stadium would be an important catalyst for future development downtown.

Related story: Proposed soccer stadium project takes step forward with final application to IEDA